Hall of Memory: mosaics

Places
Accession Number ART90409
Collection type Art
Object type Mosaic
Physical description tesserae
Location Main Bld: Commemorative Area: Hall of Memory
Maker Waller, Napier
Place made Australia: Victoria
Date made 1955-1958
Conflict Second World War, 1939-1945
Copyright

Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain

Public Domain Mark This item is in the Public Domain

Description

This record represents all tiles that are not part of pendentive figures of dome.
The walls and dome of the hall are lined with one of the largest mosaics in the world, also the work of Waller, unveiled in 1959. The mosaic inside the dome depicts the souls of the dead rising from the earth towards their spiritual home, represented by a glowing sun within the Southern Cross. The figures on the walls - a soldier, a sailor, an airman and a servicewoman - recall the Australian experience of the Second World War. Over six million pieces of glass tesserae, or tiles, imported from Italy, were used in the composition; the installation was overseen by Italian craftsmen and took three years to complete.